FREEDOM: the quality or state of being free, such as:
a: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
b: liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another
c: the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous
Every single person and child should be entitled to live a life where freedom is reality, not a dream. Thousands of children in Ghana have their freedom and childhood stripped away from them at such a young age. Parents who cannot afford to care for their children often sell them to masters in slave trades like fishing, farming, and domestic. Each Touch A Life child has been RESCUED from a childhood where they had no idea what freedom was.
During a recent visit to the Care Center, we approached the children with a question that no one should ever have to ask: Since you have been a part of the TAL family, what are you free from? We left a chalkboard next to the basketball court, and the answers were heart-breaking. Child labor, slavery, hunger, danger, sickness, fear, darkness, torture, anxieties, hatred, rejection, unrecognition, suffering, and failure were among the painful words the children wrote. The unfortunate reality for these children was not a childhood of freedom, but a childhood of pain and darkness.
Living in a country where freedom is the firm foundation, it is hard to fathom how hard life was for these children before they were RESCUED by TAL. The good news is that now these children are in the care of the TAL family, they have experienced freedom as a reality. We asked them a second question: Now that you are a part of the TAL family, what are you free to? The answers mended our hearts and warmed our souls. Peace, education, play, live, dance, sing, pray, grow, change the world, fulfill my purpose, make a difference, and to be loved by God were among the responses.
The TAL mission is to RESCUE, RENEW, and RESTORE by developing creative ways to bring healing and empowerment to those who are suffering, exploited, and at-risk around the world. Freedom is only the beginning to the renewal and restoration of a TAL child.
With your help – freedom is possible! We want to make sure that freedom is available to every exploited child. For more information on how TAL’s Mission has impacted these children and how you can help continue the mission, visit: TouchALifeKids.org/Impact.
Sarah Mast
Marketing Partner